Sample Cruise Plan for a Maine Charter

This is a comfortable one week (7 night) Cruise Plan in Penobscot Bay that can easily be adjusted to suit personal taste and interest. It provides several nights in a town where one can go ashore for restaurant dining.

DAY 1: Buck's Harbor to Burnt Coat Harbor, Swan's Island, ME
Arrival at charter base. Provision, storage, Charter Briefing. Motor down the Eggemoggin Reach past Naskeag Point and out into Jericho Bay. Enter Burnt Coat Harbor, Swan's Island. This is a totally sheltered harbor and fishing vallage. (rental moorings) . Good walks ashore along scenic harbor and coast. A good sense of the Maine Coast and its people here. Buy local lobster for dinner on board.

DAY 2: Swan's Island East to Southwest Harbor, Mount Desert Island
Depart Swan's Island eastbound for Mount Desert Island via Casco Passage. A sheltered scenic 2 hour cruise to reach Southwest Harbor on Mt. Desert. Motor the length of Somes Sound, the only true fjord in Maine. Rent a mooring in this large yachting harbor from Hinckley or a slip alongside at Great Harbor Marina. This is a classic larger Maine town with shopping and good restaurants.

 

DAY 3: Southwest Harbor West to McGlathery Island
Consider a morning tour of Acadia National Park. Depart Southwest Harbor heading west back through Casco Passage. Arrival at McGlathery's Island to anchor in the north cove.This uninhabited conservation Island is in Merchant's Row, the most beautiful part of your cruise. Sheltered anchorage in pink-granite lined intimate cove. Good exploring, beachcoming for shells, tidal pools & wild flower fields.

DAY 4: McGlathery Island to Stonington to Seal Bay, Vinalhaven
Run west through Merchant's Row and then duck back eastward to Stonington, ME. Moor or dockside at Billings shipyard. Walk into this beautiful and interesting town. Once a granite quarry and a lobsterboat harbor. Good Maine food & homemade ice cream. Provisions, fresh water and pumpout available. Overnight or continue to nearby Seal Bay on Vinalhaven Island. (enter only in good daylight). Anchor.

DAY 5: Seal Bay West to Fox Island Thoroughfare South to White Islands
Transit the Fox Island Thoroughfare with a possible lunch stop in North Haven town (mooring or dockside available). Lovely small town. Continue on thoroughfare and exit heading south to White Island off Vinalhaven Island. Careful entrance to the cove where Charles & Anna Lindbergh spent their honeymoon. Anchor in this beautiful spot with beach and tidal pools for exploration and swimming.

DAY 6: White Islands to Pulpit Harbor, North Haven Island
Depart White Island to cruise and explore the Western side of Penobscot Bay. You may want to include a lunch stop in busy Camden, Maine and then backtrack to spend the night in protected Pulpit Harbor (North Haven Island) north of Pulpit Rock. A serene and scenic harbor with good swimming which starts you heading back up the Penobscot Bay.

 

DAY 7: Pulpit Harbor to Castine
Depart Pulpit Harbor bound Northeast to Castine town. Good stops for a picnic lunch on a beach are on the lower East side of Butter Island or east side of Pond Island which are both remote beaches only visited by yachtsmen. Proceed to Castine, entering the Bagaduce River. Rental moorings or slip via Eaton's Boat Yard. Waterside dining at Dennet's Wharf Restaurant. Classic colonial era town and home of Maine Maritime Academy.

 

EASY RETURN TO BUCKS HARBOR BASE BY NOON ON DAY EIGHT

 

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